Twenty-fifth International Conference on Learning

Abstract

Education for sustainable development (ESD) was approved by UNESCO since 2002 and was implemented worldwide since 2004. As one of the leading countries that endorsed and deployed ESD nationwide, Japan took much of effort to enhance the awareness of ESD among the population. However, there is still existed a big gap between advantaged and disadvantaged regions, between formal education and informal education (or social education) in acknowledging of ESD and ESD implementation. This research was conducted with the inclined focus on ESD’s implementation in the rural areas of Japan (the case study of Kodani village, Higashi Hiroshima town, Hiroshima prefecture). The preliminary result revealed that Community education, as a grassroots level of social education in Japan, recently has been emerging as a substantial factor in enhancing the ESD’s comprehension of the people in the disadvantaged areas. Moreover, the ESD’s practice has been carrying on by the Bottom-up process, and it seems that it works effectively in the small-scaled communities areas. This research is expected to contribute an empirical experience of ESD’s implementation in the other disadvantaged areas in Japan.